GoodreadsMagical realism and a modern Cinderella story makes for a fun and relatable M!X read.Sixth grade is not going well for Calliope Meadow Anderson. Callie’s hair is frizzy, her best friend, Ellen, is acting weird, and to top things off, she has to get glasses. And her new specs aren’t even cute, trendy glasses—more like hideously large and geeky. But Callie soon discovers that her glasses have a special, magical perk: When she wears them, she can read people’s thoughts. Crazy glasses aside, Callie has more drama to face when she’s cast as the lead in the school play—and instead opts to be an understudy, giving the role of Cinderella to Ellen. Can Callie’s magic glasses help her see her way to leading lady, or is she destined to stay in the background forever?

Review

This book was pretty cute. I won a copy of this book a while back fromA thousand Wrongs. I just read it and I loved it. haha. The character is in the 6th grade, just starting her first year of middle school, and thinks she is unattractive and dorky. She is frizzy haired, freckle- faced, and now she has to deal with wearing this unbearably hideous reading glasses? life just got complicated. Wait. hold up, that wonky eye doctor gave her a pair of glasses that can read the thoughts of anyone she is looking at? junk just got interesting.now she can find out why her best (and only) friend is treating her so badly and maybe even make a few new friends while she is at. But with great power comes great responsibility. There are more important things to worry about than spying on your best friend's thoughts or trying to figure out what your long- time crush thinks of you. She has to learn what to do with her new found talent for acting (ere go the role in the school play of Cinderella), her wayward father, and that name calling bully, Charlie. And maybe even get the chance to help with something bigger than she is.This book is very safe for younger audiences and explores the world of junior high, around that crucial time where you are breaking with old childhood friendships and developing deeper and more lasting friendships. We all remember starting middle school and having crushes. i remember all too well having the friends that were prettier than I was (hey, its true. cannot be helped) and that all the boys went after. I could really relate to Callie. I mean, I wish my dorky glasses served a higher purpose than just vision correction. Okay, I am nineteen, so i can relate to Callie when I was in middle school. lol. This book was pretty deep in some senses though. You are sort of opened up to the harsh reality of fake friendships and one- sided friendships. Thinks that can be life changing to girls (and boys) at that age. I love how Callie finally stood up to her friend when she was pushing her around and calling her selfish, even though Callie was trying her hardest to be the best friend she could be. You can only do so much in a friendship with a person who thinks enough is never enough. By the way, red hots were my dads favorite candy. :) brings back some memories. I loved that part of the story. torn between whether to rate this book with red hots or silly glasses. :) We shall see. I think I may lend this book to my niece when she is just a little bit older. she is almost ten now, so she is around Callie's age. I do not know how my sister will feel about me giving her a book full of such realities just yet, Andi does not really talk a lot about friends. good lord, I do not even know who my niece's best friend is (it's me, of course). I will have to ask when next we talk. very curious, now. veeery curious............

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we share the books we are adding to our shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include
books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends
or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

OMG guys we got
so many good books this week. We went crazy buying books yesterday and I think
we did pretty well. If we see a book on sale we can’t resist and have to get
it. The prices were so good that I went up to the sales guy and said id this for
real. LOL Snyder and I had a blast until this motorcycle guys got all up in our
space while we were trying to look at books; JK we still had a blast. :)

Friday, July 27, 2012

Hey guys, I have
another great cover reveal for you today, along with a giveaway. Mercy is graciously
giving away an eBook copy for one of my followers. How cool is that. Now to the
cover reveal!!!!!!

Blurb:

I could
be surrounded by a million people, but I would still feel alone. I smile on the
outside, but inside I feel like I’m slowly dying. I cry out for help, but
nobody sees me, at least not the real me. They see a façade, a mask that I put
on to hide the pain.

I pretend
that I’m normal, but really, what is normal? Maybe what I’m feeling is normal.
The hurt, the disappointment, the loneliness… it could be all just be a part of
life. Maybe I will never know what normal is.

I put on
long sleeves and makeup to hide the bruises, but they only mask the outside.
What happens when I can’t carry my burden alone any longer? What would happen
if I told somebody the truth?

Thursday, July 26, 2012

GoodreadsWhitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has
turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The
fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin'
great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new
country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she
doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future
stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend
(even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a
smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all
three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces
of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody
Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque
girl you will wholly care about

My ThoughtsFirst off, I won a hard copy of this book from a giveaway on I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. It is a really cute blog with cool giveaways. You should check it out. :)I just received my copy in the mail today and i opened the package on my way into the house and went straight to my bedroom and devoured it. :) so yeah, review time. ding, ding, ding!Mrs. Keplnger, once again, gives us an in depth look into the world of teenage drinking and partying. I read The Duff a while back and I loved it. (would you be surprised to know the main characters from The Duff make an appearance in this book? I thought that was cool. :D) moving on. This book takes place in the same small town of Harrison. There are similarities and differences to her other work that I found, but they are both SO GOOD. anyways. Whitley has a mom who is too self absorbed to give a crap about her daughter's drinking and partying habits and a father she sees once a year who just doesn't seem to care at all. She just wants her parents to notice her and be PARENTS, for Christs sake. A chance encounter with a sexy sci- fi nerd, a failed attempt at a hookup, and a short blonde cheerleader wanna-be just may be the family she has never had.This book was sweet and kind of short to me. I liked most of the characters though. :D most of them.,.Whitley, herself, is kind of a self proclaimed slut. She is more into the actual getting Drunk part of partying than she is the hangout out part. Tequila makes her feel happy. It just also makes her make out with random people. :) She can count on one hand the number of people she has actually gone all the way with. This last one, however, he is kind of tricky. She cannot stand her mother and yearns for her father to take her away from her mothers moodswings. She does not make friends. In her experience, you cannot count on them. She will stick to her booze, thank you. She is a troubled 18 year old. She has a college picked out..she just has no idea what the hell she is going to study. maybe Russian? haha inside joke. sorry. ;). She wants to hate this new family...but just can't seem to.Nate is an adorable computer and sci- fi nerd who also happens to be on the basketball team. He is such a cute combination of hot and nerdy. I freaking love hot nerds. anyways.. I won't spoil it too much on the relationship thing Whitley is feeling for her soon to be step brother, but let me tell you. I wish he was my stepbrother. He cares for his little sister and mom alot and is even buddy buddy with old Greg (whitley's dad. the jerk) He is a total sweetheart and is kinda funny.Harrison? do not even get me started on that. It is just cruel that certain circumstances take him out of the running for a romantic relationship with any of the characters. haha. I know he has his eye on one of them. ;) He is funny and just flamboyantly adorable. nuff said.Whitley's mom has got to be the most selfish person ever. I mean her kid is an alcoholic who is never home. Get your head out of your ass, quit pining after someone who is definitely not worth it, and be a freaking mother to your daughter. 6 years is way too long for that mess to have been going on.Whitley's dad is almost as bad as her mom. When he isn't treating her like a drinking buddy instead of a daughter, he is ignoring her. He needs to get a grip and be a father.Sylvia (Nate and Bailey's mom) is a wonderful mother. She loves her kids and talks to them and she tries to treat Whitley with the same kind of maternal protectiveness. She wants Whitley and her father to resolve their problems. She will make a great step- mom. :)Bailey is an adorable almost- freshman. She wants to try out for cheer leading in order to get noticed. She wants to make a lot of friends and have a positive experience in high school. She is kind of naive. She is also adorable and endearing which makes it impossible for even rude Whitley to say no to her and her puppy dog eyes. She reminds Whitley of herself before the partying and drinking took a hold of her.Whitley's brother, Trace is there for her, even when her parents never are. She only ever talks to him by text message or over the phone, but he has a family of his own to care for as well. While he always seems busy, he is a stand up brother and the one good ting in her life before she met her step-family.Cyber bullying, drugs, drinking, partying, rape, and teenage sex were all mentioned in this book on some level. It may have been small, but it was there nonetheless. While they were mild, I would not suggest this book for the younger crowd.I would have liked to have seen her relationship with her mother resolved before the end of the story. Her relationship with her father was addressed and discussed, but the mother was just left out. Their relationship was hinted at being addressed later. It did not, however, seem like it was all that important. I think it was. The woman was bipolar or something. lol. Whitley was a funny, if not tough, character. I liked her and I like that she tried to overcome her drinking in order to be someone better for her friends and family. Not even for her real parents, but for the family that she found that did more for her than her mom or dad ever did.:) It was a good book. I have to read Shut Out now. muahaha, then I will have completed the Keplinger Collection.(I will admit that I liked The Duff better than this story. I will have to reread it. it has been a while.)

[for some reason, I felt the need to focus on characters more than the story. Don't ask why. I just went where my brain took me... scary. D: ]

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop hosted @ Pen to Paper where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.

In one of the most
exciting debuts in years, G. T. Almasi has fused the intricate
cat-and-mouse games of a John le Carre novel with the brash style of
comic book superheroes to create a kick-ass alternate history that
reimagines the Cold War as a clash of spies with biological, chemical,
and technological enhancements. Nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, a
self-described "million-dollar murder machine," is a rising star in
ExOps, a covert-action agency that aggressively shields the United
States from its three great enemies: the Soviet Union, Greater Germany,
and the Nationalist Republic of China. Rather than risk another all-out
war, the four superpowers have poured their resources into creating
superspies known as Levels. Alix is one of the hottest young
American Levels. That's no surprise: Her dad was America's top Level
before he was captured and killed eight years ago. But when an impulsive
decision explodes--literally--in her face, Alix uncovers a conspiracy
that pushes her to her limits and could upset the global balance of
power forever. "Smart, sassy, and seriously appealing: a stunning debut."--Jeff Long, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Descent"

I actually found this book today, while I was roaming Goodreads. :) The gun on the cover is what got my attention first. Then, I read the summary and it kept getting better and better. So, a girl that is a murder machine + Superpowers + guns = AWESOMESAUCE!!!!!! There isn't any room for me to say much more, that about sums it up. What's on your wishlist this week?

In a desert world of sandstorms and sand-wolves, a teen girl must defy the gods to save her tribe in this mystical, atmospheric tale from the author of Drink, Slay, Love."Liyana has trained her entire life to be the vessel of a goddess. The goddess will inhabit Liyana's body and use magic to bring rain to the desert. But Liyana's goddess never comes. Abandoned by her angry tribe, Liyana expects to die in the desert. Until a boy walks out of the dust in search of her.

Korbyn is a god inside his vessel, and a trickster god at that. He tells Liyana that five other gods are missing, and they set off across the desert in search of the other vessels. For the desert tribes cannot survive without the magic of their gods. But the journey is dangerous, even with a god's help. And not everyone is willing to believe the trickster god's tale.

The closer she grows to Korbyn, the less Liyana wants to disappear to make way for her goddess. But she has no choice: She must die for her tribe to live. Unless a trickster god can help her to trick fate--or a human girl can muster some magic of her own.

Ok. First of all, the girl on this cover is beautiful. I mean, she is beautiful, her dress is beautiful, and the colors are beautiful, and the smoke/fog? Do not even get me started about the Smoke Fog! Heck, even the title is beautiful. Ok, I am over that now. not. moving on.

2nd. SAND WOLVES. OH MY LORD, COUNT ME IN. You can stop at sand wolves. You have me. You literally do not need to go any further. Alright, just out of curiosity, I will read on. hey, cool name. Abandoned in the desert, you say? Oh no, they didn't! whoa.. heh heh, a boy? please continue. Whoa, this guy is a hott ( I am taking liberty here and assuming he is hot. I mean come on, a God took over his body. puh- lease. and a trickster god at that. that is hot in itself.) trickster. Well I love a guy with a sense of humor. This book taunts me with its implied awesomeness. Challenge Accepted. I will have you. (creepy. D:)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready
to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found
freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to
Daisy's door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors . . .

Their growing passion
knows no bounds . . .

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal
nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his
secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless
Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask
the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her
own startling secret and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart
to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

I
was provided the Galley from grand Central Publishing for my honest review.

I
was really hesitant to start reading this because I loved Firelight and didn’t
want to be let down. Let’s just say that I cannot believe that thought even popped
into my head because this book was amazing. I definitely will not wait to start
any other book by Kristin Callihan. So, do you want to know what I thought
about it?

There
was action right off the bat. Daisy is tired of mourning the loss of a husband
that she never loved. She wants to feel wanted again and goes out to have a
little fun. What turned out to be a fun night turned drastic when she finds one
of her friends in the alley dead. She is then attack by whatever killed her
friend, but what is it? Enter Ian. From there on they try to figure out who is
killing all these women, who wear the same perfume as Daisy and why they are
doing it. If you want love triangle, you won’t find it in this book. The romance
was stop on, not too much, not too little, it didn’t dominate the story.

Daisy
is the kind of woman that doesn’t have a filter. She just says whatever pops
into her head…Kinda like me. I think that’s what I like the most about her. At
first, I thought she was going to be one of those pushovers that talk a lot of
smack. As the story progressed, I could tell that she wasn’t having that.

Ian:
During this book he has become dear to my heart. I despised him in the first
one. I don’t know how she done it but she made me love him. Ian has a secret
that he would rather keep hidden, but there is something about Daisy that makes
him want to strip off his entire amour. He is a confident man but Daisy makes him nervous.
Why? You have to read it to find out. J

I’m
also glad that they put Miranda in this book. I mean she is her sister but I thought
it was just going to be about her. I really liked Miranda in Firelight but I
have to say that I think I like Daisy better. Miranda is more of a hardcore
girl and isn’t afraid to use it. Daisy is sweeter and doesn’t let you see that
she is deadly.

I
just have to say that I loved this book!!! It has all my favorite things in one
small package and it works. If you know anything about me, then you know what I
love, if not then you are in for a surprise.

Overall,
this book kept me interested from the beginning and didn’t falter.

May 8th. (:

Tiffany and Ryan

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FTC

The FTC requires us to state that a percentage of the books we review are from the Authors. We receive them for free in exchange for an HONEST review. We do not receive any monetary compensation or such nonsense in exchange for reviews. Other books are reviewed are books we have bought, traded from other book lovers, won, or received as gifts.